Beyond the Deep Sea
As you may be aware, nobody knows how big Starsong is as anyone who crosses the edge of Drangleic or the Deep Sea either never return or claim it is endless. What information we have of Starsong has been collected by Magisters of the Venarium, but most importantly they have at least been verified. The following information is comprised of stories from dragon-riders and cragsmen who have seen beyond the Deep Sea. Look at everything you read with a grain of fine salt. Contributors - Viktor Argonan Rogenbras von Goetia - Esker - Andred Ryland Lands Unknown Caer Siorai is the most commonly spoken-of land unknown to all. Cragsmen speak of vast black peaks upon the water’s edge to where strange men coloured like paintings walk. Those who wander within are taken by the men and said to be used in blood rituals, speaking of reverence to the god-kings of Caer Siorai. The Bloodless Cities within Caer Siorai is a collection of cities where death is a myth and life endless. The people are tall and winged, terrible and beautiful. Damiacus, the Grey Forest Synopsis: Petrified forest, with ecology to match. It is within the Basilisk Isle along Corpsewater Coast. Origin: The blood of a great basilisk, almost a dragon in both stature and ferocity, seeping into the soil when it was slain. The same event earned “the Basilisk” its name. Terrain: The dull and gray blankets everything, from the bamboo trees reaching for the sky to the ground, to even the horizon appears this dull and almost melancholic gray, all petrified in some way or another. Only patches of vibrant flora – All subsisting on some form of stone, break the monotony. The resulting view is jarring at best, and downright alien otherwise. Ecology: Basilisks roam freely and multiply incessantly, the soil being nourishment to them. Feral gorgons (the greek kind) hunt in rudimentary packs, hunting both basilisks and foraging flora that isn’t stone. The flora itself often holds anti-petrification properties, though many with odd side effects. In this peculiar cycle of life, fecundity is sporadic, though the area itself seems.. stable enough. - Quoth Esker, planeswalker Dherdaruhm, The Frostbitten Wastes Island to the far north within the Shivering Sea, once known for harsh winters. Once attached to Arl’Skellig, perhaps? Once home to an ancient, hardy race, related to Dwarvenkind. A curse that caused a never ending winter was unleashed upon the land by a jealous king, leaving it as little more than a frozen wasteland. Life was no longer sustainable and the natives died out, leaving behind the history and treasure of an entire culture, for those brave enough to look for it - Quoth Andred Ryland, explorer Sheer-Rime Point Synopsis: A feywild crossing in a strange place. Terrain: Sheer-Rime Point exists as a perfect circle cut out of the ocean, a hole in the blue, seperated by a barrier of pearlescent ice. This odd parition seems to extend to the sea floor, or at least beyond sight from the surface of the ocean. Ecology: Creatures from the feywild, both wild and alien, sometimes flit up from the depths, sprites and frost pixies, and some say even the Wild Hunt takes to the skies once in a full moon. Other more natural creatures have also taken up residence, whether they range from mundane birds to drakes. Exploration: Some have tried scaling the sheer walls of the area, with differing levels of success. While it is widely believed to link to some winter realm in the Feywild, not much exploration has been done beyond that point. -Quoth Esker, planeswalker Peoples Unseen The Painted Dogs are a breed of men from Siorai, said to be short and hairy; beastial like an Orc from Aerrune. What doesn’t add up is their flesh can turn to and from stone. The same stone that makes up the port-city of Siradon. The Woods Walkers of Ifqueveron are an interesting case of the sorcery of Saine. Druids exist as skinwalkers and shapechangers, but not like the Woods Walkers, no. They walk as trees, or as tall as giants or as low as the peat in a bog. The Lepers of Gogossos are another sect from Saine, Boletaria. Through their festering flesh do they find freedom from earthly, material needs. Their magic strengthened, their hate pure and their power unmatched. But they are just a story of fleshless men in the swamps, surely. Customs Unbelievable The Flesh Pits of Qohoros are a mystery to all. Those who wander too close to Qohoros are met with spear and spell on its shores. Apparently Qohoros was a penal colony for enemies and slaves of the Sainites, who practice blood sorcery to this day. The Flesh Pits are a terrifying story about sacrificing women burdened with child to pits of demons, fused together in one horrific amalgamation of flesh. Him of Many Faces spread of worship of a single god who changes face when required. The far reaches of Starsong are home to the prayerless people, so perhaps He of Many Faces is actually a god-king? A lord? The Flayed God is not unlike the theory behind Azarus falling to Starsong and letting his body become earth and water is only a theory. The Flayed God is a tale as old as time, of a god whose skin was stretched so thin and far he became something… else. Something worse than what lurks under Starsong. Beasts Untamed The Shifting Plains is an example of a story spread of mirages and mystic plagues throughout the Suntorn Waste of Boletaria, but a common, shared myth is the sand is the one to fear. The Shifting Plains is a story about the sand being a mimic of epic size, and from within its earthly bosom it can raise the dead. Figures Unimaginable Bols the Unstoppable loved to laugh and drink. Rarely did he ever stop and think. Vordt of Berenike , beloved of the Spirits of the other side, in his hour of need they did not help, but they greeted him when he died. Magic Unforgettable